Lesson 8: Milch's Repatriation
Milch as worked his way back into the Special Orchestra just as his manager, Elise, has tracked him down to Japan with the intent to return him to Europe. But, as the students learn, he wants to remain for the sake of the University chairwoman who was once his true love. This puts Chiaki in an awkward place, now booted from his substitute conductor position to learn a piano concerto while Nodame is told by Milch that she might not have what it takes to stay with Chiaki. Summary A month has passed since the Subscription Concert and the S Orchestras debut. Chiaki calls Nodame to come along to school, annoyed that she needs to use his computer because he has better internet. It’s raining outside and while Chiaki easily pulls out his umbrella and walks on, Nodame’s is broken and he refuses to share his with her as she chases after him. As this is the rainy season, humidity is affecting the instruments of the S Orchestra and everyone’s dying from the broken air conditioner. Milch takes this moment to step in and offers to take them all out to another party; though they originally are outraged over his coming back, he uses Chiaki as bait then lures in the rest. Outside, they run into Nodame who after falling into a puddle is provided new clothes by Milch: a bathing suit, which gets the males of the orchestra interested in the drinking party. Milch suggests a game of Strip Rock-Paper-Scissors, but Nodame only becomes interested in playing when Milch declares Chiaki will strip for every time he losses, getting the full support of the female population. While the game and Chiaki’s torment commence, Mine and Masumi ponder if “Stresemann” is the real deal as he has no dignity and is much too perverted. Chiaki later tells them that it is the real Stresemann (or else he’d want nothing to do with the man). That night, Chiaki is trying to research about Stresemann’s stay in Japan and after an incident with Nodame rewriting the font on his computer, finds that someone has posted the Maestro as missing, having snuck out after one of his concerts and disappearing from Europe. A helicopter arrives at the school and just as Milch wants to drag Chiaki on another perverted scheme, he is confronted by his secretary Elise who’s come to take him back. He run off and is pursued by Oliver the bodyguard while Elise explains to Chiaki and Nodame that she knew Milch would come to Japan because the Chairperson of the university, Minako Momodaira, was an old friend of his from his own university days. With the Maestro tied up in the helicopter, they depart, leaving Chiaki shell-shocked. Mine is told about this occurrence and informs them that the Chairwoman was hospitalized with an illness for the entire time Milch had been in Japan so he likely never met her face to face during his stay. Nodame feels bad for Milch’s heartbreak and Mine is glad the pervert is gone, but Chiaki is depressed that he couldn’t learn more about music from him. Mine’s dad cuts in to reveal he knows the chairwoman because he often delivered food to the hospital, then reveals a more recent photo of her, showing that she’s gained quite a lot of weight. Stunned, the students consider if it might have been for the best they never meet. Two days after Stresemann was taken away, Chiaki and Nodame run into him at school, declaring that he escaped Elise and returned. Mine thinks it was all to meet the chairwoman but Masumi points out he would have visited her hospital if that was the case. There’s news that she’ll be returning soon and a bet begin over how he’ll react to her heavier form (Nodame taking the side of true love). Stresemann cuts into S orchestra’s practice and starts harping them on their mistakes, even Chiaki, surprising them all by sounding like an actual teacher for once. As they finish up, the Chairwoman arrives and is amazingly as beautiful as her picture from 45 years ago declared her to be. Milch greets her happily and asks her for marriage, but she turns him down outright. Throughout the day, Milch continues a pattern of being a good teacher and a good samaritan while Mina watches him, smiling. The students suspect he’s just doing this for her attention and it all comes to a head when Chiaki is forced to step down as conductor for a while to focus on a piano piece Stresemann wants him to play for a later concert. Chiaki storms out angry and runs into Elise in the lobby. Elsewhere, Nodame is practicing piano while Milch, finished with rehearsal, listens from the hallway. Once she finishes, he comes in and congratulates her, then asks what she plans to do for the future. She tell him she’d like to be both a school teacher and Chiaki’s wife, but he tells her that at her current skill level, she can’t stand by Chiaki’s side much longer. Back with Chiaki, he learns from Elise about Maestro having fallen in love with the Chairwoman as a young man with a slacker attitude to music despite that she was already quite famous for her piano skills. He studied harder so that he could keep up with her but in the end, a disease in her fingers ended her piano career and she returned to Japan where she became the chairperson of Chiaki’s university. Elise believes that now the two are only friends and he only came to Japan because Mina called him to be an instructor, not because he was chasing her. It might have also been for this reason he adopted Chiaki as a pupil, which he’d never done before. The chairwoman and maestro discuss the university students and she wants him to help Chiaki who is unable to leave Japan. He points out that other than the boy, someone else needs help to, pointing to Nodame who is desperately clinging to Chiaki in the courtyard, saying how she reflects Stresemann in his younger years. Later, he suddenly declares to Nodame, Chiaki, Mine, and Masumi that they’ll be going on a “vacation” in the highlands mountains, though it’s really to a music festival that Elise is making him work at. Featured Music *Beethoven: **Symphony No. 3 "Eroica" *Dvořák: **Symphony No. 5 *Bartok: ** Allegro barbaro